Computer Network | Ethernet Frame Format

Prerequisite – Introduction to Ethernet

Basic frame format which is required for all MAC implementation is defined
in IEEE 802.3 standard. Though several optional formats are being used to
extend the protocol’s basic capability.
Ethernet frame starts with Preamble and SFD, both works at physical layer.
Ethernet header contains both Source and Destination MAC address, after
which the payload of frame is present. The last field is CRC which is used to
detect the error. Now, let’s study each field of basic frame format.

Ethernet (IEEE 802.3) Frame Format –

 PREAMBLE – Ethernet frame starts with 7-Bytes Preamble. This is

pattern of alternative 0’s and 1’s which indicates starting of the frame and
allow sender and receiver to establish bit synchronization. Initially, PRE
(Preamble) was introduced to allow for the loss of few bits due to signal
delays. But todays high-speed Ethernet don’t need Preamble to protect the
frame bits.
PRE (Preamble) indicates the receiver that frame is coming and allow the
receiver to lock onto the data stream before the actual frame begins.
 Start of frame delimiter (SFD) – This is a 1-Byte field which is always
set to 10101011. SFD indicates that upcoming bits are starting of frame,
which is destination address. Sometimes SFD is considered the part of
PRE, this is the reason Preamble is described as 8 Bytes in many places.
 Destination Address – This is 6-Byte field which contains the MAC
address of machine for which data is destined.
 Source Address – This is a 6-Byte field which contains the MAC address
of source machine. As Source Address is always an individual address
(Unicast), the least significant bit of first byte is always 0.
 Length – Length is a 2-Byte field, which indicates the length of entire
Ethernet frame. This 16-bit field can hold the length value between 0 to
 65534, but length can not be larger than 1500 because of some own
limitations of Ethernet.
 Data – This is the place where actual data is inserted, also known
as Payload. Both IP header and data will be inserted here, if Internet
Protocol is used over Ethernet. The maximum data present may be as long
as 1500 Bytes. In case data length is less than minimum length i.e. 46
bytes, then padding 0’s is added to meet the minimum possible length.
 Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) – CRC is 4 Byte field. This field
contains 32-bits hash code of data, which is generated over Destination
Address, Source Address, Length and Data field. If the checksum
computed by destination is not same as sent checksum value, data received
is corrupted.
Note – Size of frame of Ethernet IEEE 802.3 varies 64 bytes to 1518 bytes
including data length (46 to 1500 bytes).

Frame format of Token Bus

The various fields present in the frame format are
1. Preamble: This. Field is at least 1 byte long. It is used for bit
synchronization.

2. Start Delimiter: This one byte field marks the beginning of frame.
3. Frame Control: This one byte field specifies the type of frame. It
distinguishes data frame from control frames. For data frames it carries frame's
priority. For control frames, it specifies the frame type. The control frame types
include. token passing and various ring maintenance frames, including the
mechanism for letting new station enter the ring, the mechanism for allowing
stations to leave the ring.
4. Destination address: It specifies 2 to 6 bytes destination address.
5. Source address: It specifies 2 to 6 bytes source address.
6. Data: This field may be upto 8182 bytes long when 2 bytes addresses are
used & upto 8174 bytes long when 6 bytes address is used.
7. Checksum: This 4 byte field detects transmission errors.
8. End Delimiter: This one byte field marks the end of frame.
The various control frames used in token bus are:

Frame Format

Token Ring and IEEE 802.5 support two basic frame types: tokens and
data/command frames. Tokens are 3 bytes in length and consist of a start
delimiter, an access control byte, and an end delimiter. Data/command frames
vary in size, depending on the size of the Information field. Data frames carry
information for upper-layer protocols, while command frames contain control
information and have no data for upper-layer protocols. Both formats are shown
in Figure: IEEE 802.5 and Token Ring Specify Tokens and Data/Command
Frames.
Figure: IEEE 802.5 and Token Ring Specify Tokens and Data/Command
Frames
Token Frame Fields
The three token frame fields illustrated in Figure 9-3 are summarized in the
descriptions that follow:

 Start delimiter - Alerts each station of the arrival of a token (or

data/command frame). This field includes signals that distinguish the byte
from the rest of the frame by violating the encoding scheme used elsewhere
in the frame.
 Access-control byte - Contains the Priority field (the most significant 3 bits)
and the Reservation field (the least significant 3 bits), as well as a token bit
(used to differentiate a token from a data/command frame) and a monitor bit
(used by the active monitor to determine whether a frame is circling the ring
endlessly).
 End delimiter - Signals the end of the token or data/command frame. This
field also contains bits to indicate a damaged frame and identify the frame
that is the last in a logical sequence.
Data/Command Frame Fields
Data/command frames have the same three fields as Token Frames, plus several
others. The Data/command frame fields illustrated in Figure 9-3 are described in
the following summaries:

 Start delimiter - Alerts each station of the arrival of a token (or

data/command frame). This field includes signals that distinguish the byte
from the rest of the frame by violating the encoding scheme used elsewhere
in the frame.
 Access-control byte - Contains the Priority field (the most significant 3 bits)
and the Reservation field (the least significant 3 bits), as well as a token bit
(used to differentiate a token from a data/command frame) and a monitor bit
(used by the active monitor to determine whether a frame is circling the ring
endlessly).
 Frame-control bytes - Indicates whether the frame contains data or control
information. In control frames, this byte specifies the type of control
information.
 Destination and source addresses - Consists of two 6-byte address fields
that identify the destination and source station addresses.
 Data - Indicates that the length of field is limited by the ring token holding
time, which defines the maximum time a station can hold the token.
 Frame-check sequence (FCS) - Is filed by the source station with a
calculated value dependent on the frame contents. The destination station
recalculates the value to determine whether the frame was damaged in
transit. If so, the frame is discarded.
 End Delimiter - Signals the end of the token or data/command frame. The
end delimiter also contains bits to indicate a damaged frame and identify the
frame that is the last in a logical sequence.
 Frame Status - Is a 1-byte field terminating a command/data frame. The
Frame Status field includes the address-recognized indicator and frame-
copied indicator.